Wolf in a Trap
by Night and Gale
Summary: An assassin is hired to kill Yusuke. Who is this "Black Widow" and what connection does she have with Hiei?
1. Assignment

I've always loved YYH's bad guys: starting with Kurama, then Hiei, then Byakko, Seiryu, Karasu, Toguro, Jin, Bui . . . they're awesome, but they also have motivations and personalities. I took a swing at creating a new "bad guy," and because YYH is so male-dominated, I made it a "bad girl.  
  
If you want to see this fic continued, you have to review!  
  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
"You're joking. You want me to kill some human kid?" The assassin threw the file folder back onto her superior's desk. "You want a soft job done, ask Scorpion. He'll be only too happy to take out some weakling.  
  
"The Guild Seniors want you.  
  
"Too bad." Kira turned on her heel.  
  
"You aren't the least bit curious why they want you for this job? One of the Guild's top assassins assigned to take out a human boy?  
  
"I'm not paid to be curious.  
  
"You remember the Toguro brothers? This kid took them out. He won the Dark Tournament a couple weeks ago.  
  
Kira turned back reluctantly and picked up the file. "Urameshi Yusuke? Weird name.  
  
"He's Koenma's Spirit Detective. The client's an enemy of Enma.  
  
Kira shrugged; she didn't care about the client. She cared about the target. "Any of his Tournament team survive?  
  
"All." Kira's eyebrows rose. Surviving the Dark tournament was unusual. For the entire team to survive was almost unheard-of. "They're in the packet.  
  
Kira flipped through the pages, each with a picture and short description of strengths and fighting techniques.  
  
Kazuma Kuwabara: human male, 14, unusual spirit-awareness, uses rei-ken. Mainly offensive fighter. Mystical weapon: Trial Sword. The picture was of an unattractive, large-shouldered boy with a bush of bright-orange hair. Kira hardly spared him a glance.  
  
Genkai: human female, 73, famous mystic and tournament champion 1949. Greatest power: "spirit wave" technique. Kira knew of her; every demon knew about Genkai. She studied the photographs, one of a beautiful girl and the other of an old woman. Genkai was certainly no longer in her prime, but might still be a threat.  
  
Minamano Shuichi, a.k.a. Yoko Kurama: 14/1000, demon in human body. Weapons: rose whip, rose petals, deadly makai plants. Kira let out a low whistle. Yoko Kurama, the legendary kitsune thief, was working for a human boy? "It seems I underestimated this Urameshi ," she thought. There were two images: one of Kurama in human form, with large green eyes and long red hair; the other showed Kurama in his humanoid form, with large golden eyes and long white hair. Kira studied the two faces of the infamous demon thief and judged him to be less of a fighter than a thinker. That was dangerous for Kira, whose techniques relied on being underestimated by her opponent.  
  
Urameshi Yusuke: 14, human boy, spirit detective. Genkai's apprentice and heir to the "spirit wave" technique. Uses reigann. Kira looked at the face of the human boy. She saw determination, but also a happy-go-lucky attitude. She guessed that, if pushed, he would rise to meet any obstacle. Kira knew she would have to defeat him quickly and utterly, before he had the chance to call out his hidden power.  
  
On the last page of the packet, two haunting ruby eyes stared at Kira. She inhaled quickly. Hiei? The former assassin Hiei was working for the Spirit world under the leadership of a 14-year-old boy? Kira looked up at her boss quickly. "Hiei?  
  
He smiled. "Think you can handle the assignment?  
  
Kira paused. She was one of the best assassins in the guild, and she knew it. But she hadn't survived for twenty years by recklessly underestimating her opponents, or fighting demons who were better than she was. She had defeated opponents who were stronger, faster, smarter, but never one who was all three. Hiei definitely was, and he was a former assassin. The answer was simple: Kira would be able to carry out the assassination if, and only if, she avoided fighting Hiei at all costs.  
  
"Sure I can handle it. Just as long as you don't expect me to take any more soft jobs like this in the future.  
  
"Glad to hear it. Scorpion will be glad to hear it, too.  
  
"Scorpion?" Kira glared at her boss with narrowed eyes. "Absolutely not.  
  
"The Guild said you either partner with Scorpion or he does the mission alone.  
  
"Kisama." Scorpion was good at his job, Kira had to admit. Otherwise, he'd be dead. However, she disliked him intensely. Their ki-nullifying powers were similar, but their personalities were opposite. Scorpion was a bully by nature; he preferred soft jobs and tortures. He was inefficient in his killings because he played cat-and-mouse with the victim. Still, this job was . . . unique. "Fine, as long as I get seniority," Kira agreed finally, "but I'll need the Tournament video footage and a week for surveillance.  
  
"Most assassins wouldn't dare ask for a week to observe their victim," thought Kira's boss. "Then again, most assassins aren't as cautious and thorough. Better it takes a week and is successful than a series of botched attempts. Especially when dealing with a target this powerful." Aloud, the demon said, "It'll need Guild approval.  
  
Kira snorted. "Like hell. The Guild's approval rests entirely on your assessment. So, do I get it?  
  
He smiled. "You've got it. The assignment, the video footage, the week's surveillance, full access to the database and weapons. You've even got seniority over Scorpion.  
  
"I'll be in the research room. Send the tapes and the contract there.  
  
"Pleasure doing business with you, Kira." The assassin just laughed and left his office. Very quietly, he added, "I'll miss you, kid." 


	2. First Strike

Alternate chapter title: "Yusuke does something really stupid"  
  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
"Aww, Keiko, won't you leave me alone?" Urameshi Yusuke was sick and tired of his girlfriend ragging on him.  
  
"You haven't shown up for any classes for two days. I thought you'd gone off to another of your Ôdetective' jobs. And now you won't even talk to me. Yusuke, what's wrong?  
  
"I told you: nothing's wrong. I'm just tired of everyone being on my back all the time." That wasn't exactly true. He'd just been so jumpy for the last couple of days. Maybe he was feeling restless; it had been almost a month since the Dark Tournament, and the Spirit World had been very quiet. Yeah, he was probably just anxious from waiting.  
  
"Fine. If nothing's wrong and you want to be left alone, I'll go." Keiko's sailor-suit skirt swished as she left.  
  
"Wait, Keiko, I . . . Kuso, I don't know what's gotten into me." Walking with his hands in his jeans' pockets, he walked towards his apartment, kicking a pebble in front of him. He didn't notice that he had chosen this same alley to walk through every day for the past seven days. He did notice that one of the abandoned factories had its door left ajar. Then he felt it: the presence of a youkai.  
  
"Finally, I get some action," Yusuke yelled as he kicked the door open. There was a single small window high in the corner that cast a pure beam of sunlight through the dust. All the other windows were boarded up. Yusuke couldn't see well in the dark, but he didn't need to. He could see the demon's spirit energy blazing red in front of him. Pointing his right index finger, he called, "So long, sucker!  
  
He felt a thread tighten around his wrists, and felt annoyed. What was this, a spider web? He jerked the string to break it, but it went slack. Strange.  
  
Then he felt the tickle of threads around his throat. He was reaching up to pull them off when the wrist-strings went taught again, lifting him into the air. Not only those threads, but thousands of others that had been wrapped loosely around the outside of his jeans and his jacket. He was hoisted up into the air and into the patch of sunlight. It was then he realized that he was tied up by millions of almost-invisible threads. "What the hell?" He tried to jerk his right arm free, and felt the threads slicing into his wrist, forearm and elbow. "Kisama!" Several threads were visible because of the drops of blood running along them.  
  
The youkai he had sensed earlier laughed. "Go on and struggle, boy, I love seeing you bleed." The male demon stepped close enough so that Yusuke could make out his shape in the gloom. He was an ugly, heavily armored, stocky demon with two tails which he held up over his head, poised to strike. "The great Urameshi, bogeyman of the demon world, tournament champion, trussed up like a ball of yarn. The look on your face is priceless, boy.  
  
Yusuke's growl of rage was interrupted by a clear alto: "You wanted to finish it, Scorpion, so do it. Kill the kid and let's get out of here.  
  
There were two of them? Why hadn't he sensed the female earlier?  
  
"C'mon, Black Widow, you've had us trailing this guy for a week, and now that the fun part has come, you want to split?  
  
Scorpion grabbed a random thread and tugged; Yusuke felt a pain in his left shoulder as if he'd been cut by a knife. This had gone far enough, Urameshi decided. Calling his power into his hand for his spirit gun, he yelled "shotgun," and let loose a barrage of shots.  
  
"AAAAARGH!" Yusuke screamed and went limp. Dots still danced in front of his eyes. Where had that light and pain come from? Why hadn't his spirit gun worked?  
  
Scorpion snickered. "Keep doin' that and you'll save us the trouble of killing you: you'll roast yourself. See, the Black Widow's thread's aren't made of silk; they're strings of ki. Can't break Ôem, and they generate a force field to contain your reiki. You're fried by your own attacks!  
  
"Kisama, Scorpion, just finish the damned job!" Yusuke could see her now that his eyes had adjusted. She was about four inches taller than Hiei, with the long limbs and large eyes typical of demons. Hers were dark amethyst, and furious. Her hair was forest green, short and spiked. "You know the drill: we set the trap, spring it, and then leave immediately.  
  
"Why so jumpy, Spidey? Worried that big bad Hiei is gonna show?  
  
"You want a taste of his Hell-dragon, you can stick around. I'm getting out of here. If you won't kill the kid, I will." The female youkai pulled out a long kodachi and approached Yusuke. Urameshi saw no chance of mercy in her eyes. But perhapsÉ Yusuke released another shotgun just as she drew close enough to touch him. He felt the pain and saw the blinding light again, but was satisfied to see Black Widow thrown back five feet by the explosion of energy. She landed on her feet, still gripping the dagger which now glowed white-hot. "Nice trick, kid. You're a fast learner.  
  
Scorpion laughed. "That won't work on me. Not when I strike from a distance." The youkai was standing directly behind Yusuke, so the Spirit Detective didn't even see the stinger coming; he only heard the sickening thwap of the poisoned tip burying itself in flesh and a gasp of surprise and pain.  
  
Black Widow stared at her partner, eyes wide. "Scorpion? How dare you . . . ?" She fell to her knees, clutching her stomach where the stinger had embedded itself. 


	3. Wolf Spider

Did you like the twist at the end of the last chapter? What do you mean you saw it coming? Oh, fine then, next time I'll really surprise you: I'll have Yusuke attacked by a giant hamburger. Or maybe not. If you want me to keep writing this piece, you gotta review!  
  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
Kura's body began to tremble, and sweat broke out all over her. She raised her hands and wiggled the fingers as if playing Cat's Cradle with invisible string, but nothing happened.  
  
Scorpion laughed and laughed and laughed. "You didn't think I'd let some uppity bitch like you boss me around for long, did you? How do you feel, sweetheart? I've been told my poison is incredibly painful. Of course, what's more important is that it makes you lose control of your reiki." The demon made a wide circle around Urameshi to avoid all of the threads, then approached his fallen partner. "Tell me, honey, how does it feel to be helpless?  
  
"Goddamned coward," she hissed. "You don't have the guts to do this without backing. Who hired you, freak?" Scorpion landed a kick in her stomach, driving the stinger deeper into her vitals. Black Widow curled up into a fetal position, but didn't make a sound.  
  
"Same ones who hired you, bitch. I have signature of every Guild Senior on the contract to kill you." He grabbed her chin, forced her too look into his beady eyes. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment, Kira . . . If you cooperate, I won't hurt you--much--before the poison kills you. Or, you can struggle, and I'll find out just how many of your bones I can break before you die of shock." The Scorpion leered at her, his deformed, bumpy face inches from hers. "I hope you'll struggle. I've never found it as interesting to screw a girl as torture her.  
  
Kira's finger's curled around the kodachi's handle; with a jerk, she stabbed at the demon's stomach, where his armor was softer. The knife scored the armor, but couldn't cut deep enough to draw blood; the tip jammed and broke off. Scorpion was forced to back off for a moment, and Kira scrambled to her feet and away from him. She backed away, towards Yusuke.  
  
Scorpion sneered, "You think the boy would help you, even if he could? You tried to kill him, remember?  
  
Kira shrugged painfully. "Don't you remember? ÔMy enemy's enemy . . .'   
  
"Then say ÔGoodbye' to your new friend!" The second tail struck, aiming for Yusuke's heart. The Spirit Detective never saw her crouch and jump, only saw her flying through the air in front of him. Then she fell to the ground and lay still. The second stinger was buried in her right shoulder. She was breathing hard.  
  
"What do you think you've accomplished?" Scorpion hissed, "You're still going to die.  
  
He was shocked by the serene smile on Kira's face. "Everyone dies," she whispered, "but you'll die before me.  
  
"WHAT?  
  
"When a wolf is caught in a trap, he'll gnaw off his own foot to free himself. You're a coward; you couldn't understand." The dying youkai looked up at Yusuke. "It's up to you now, Urameshi.  
  
The threads dissolved, dropping the Spirit Detective to the ground. Before his feet touched, he screamed "SHOTGUN!" and hit Scorpion with a barrage of shots. They bounced harmlessly off his armor. "Kuso!" Urameshi swore.  
  
The female demon was saying something. Yusuke crouched down to hear her. "Aim for the belly. His armor is softer. And . . . the back of the neck. There's a gap . . ." She coughed up some blood. "Watch the tails . . . no more poison, but . . . still dangerous.  
  
Scorpion roared and lashed out with his tails, smashing up the concrete where the two had been a moment before. Yusuke, who had scooped up Kira out of instinct, heard her berating him in a whisper: "Baka! I'm already dead. Don't bother with me." He could feel her struggling to breathe; her body was shaking. One stinger was still deep inside her belly; the other was buried in her left shoulder. Both wounds were bleeding steadily. Yusuke couldn't help but notice that when her strange eyes were closed, she looked very human.  
  
Urameshi propped Kira up against one of the walls and charged Scorpion. Aim for the belly or the back of the neck, hmm? The youkai wouldn't know what had hit him.  
  
Rapid-fire punches and kicks from all directions confused and angered the demon, but didn't seem to harm him. Even on the belly, the creature's skin was just too thick. He sent off his spirit gun at point-blank range at the back of his neck, but it tilted its head back to close the gap in the armor. Yusuke was getting desperate: his reigann wasn't inexhaustible.  
  
Scorpion lowered his head and charged the Spirit Detective, then froze in his tracks and roared, "You BITCH!" He whirled to face his former partner, scrabbling with his clawed hands at the hilt of the kodachi stuck deep into the gap in the armor; it wedged the crack open.  
  
Yusuke saw his chance. The blast from his spirit gun entered the crack and exploded inside the monster's head. Eyes wide, Scorpion's corpse crashed to the ground. 


	4. Kurama's Medicine

Reviews? Pretty please?  
  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
The Spirit Detective took several deep breaths before walking over to check on his new ally. Her skin felt cold and damp; her eyes were unfocused. She didn't react to his presence, but when he told her Scorpion was dead, she seemed to relax.  
  
Yusuke pulled out his cell phone and dialed quickly. "Mrs Minamano? This is Urameshi Yusuke. Can I talk to Shuichi? . . . Kurama, I need help. I got attacked and . . . I'm fine, but one of the demons is badly hurt, I think she's dying . . . Yes, she did attack me, but then she helped me; it's complicated. I can bring her to my apartment, but I don't know what to do: she's poisoned, and . . . Thanks, Kurama, I'll meet you at my place.  
  
Urameshi picked up the female youkai and carried her down unused alleys and entered his apartment building through the back door. When he entered his apartment, he found his mother sleeping off a binge. She must have started early in the morning to have passed out before evening. He lay Kira out on the couch. Kurama knocked softly on the door before rushing in.  
  
"You said something on the phone about poison, Yuu-" Kurama smelled the blood and stopped. He examined the demon with a worried expression. Her pulse was weak and irregular, her breathing was labored, she had lost a lot of blood, and she was unconscious. "Yusuke, these are deep wounds. It's unlikely she'll survive, even if I can counteract the poison. But I'll do what I can.  
  
Urameshi pulled out the first aid kit. Disinfectant, gauze, band-aids. Not much help. In the end, he found clean t-shirts for bandages and a kitchen knife for a scalpel. Kurama used the knife to extract the barbed stingers. He started on the belly wound, which was deeper and needed to be sewn up as soon as possible. He had just finished pulling out the stinger when he realized that she was conscious and watching with the surgery with curious detachment. She hadn't twitched or made a sound yet, but Kurama was nervous. "Yusuke? She's awake.  
  
Yusuke approached, and talked to the woman in a soothing tone. "Your name's Kira, right? I'm Yusuke. We worked together to kill Scorpion. Can you remember? It's going to be OK; Kurama's a friend of mine. Just stay still, and he'll do everything he can to help you." The female demon gave no sign of understanding, but watched both with dark purple eyes.  
  
Kurama threaded a sewing needle with thread and carefully sewed the deeper wound closed before attempting to remove the stinger from her shoulder. He was amazed at her self-control; she didn't gasp or flinch, even when he was making incisions. After almost an hour, Kurama finally set down the bloody instruments and went to wash his hands. The wounds were closed, at least. Now, he needed to create an antidote to the Scorpion's poison.  
  
He mentally listed her symptoms: her fast, irregular heartbeat could be treated with foxglove leaves; her difficulty breathing could be eased with the makai plant Red Claw; her pain could be relieved with willow-bark. The first two could be grown and harvested easily from the collection of seeds Kurama carried. He brewed and strained a strong tea from the medicinal plants and substituted aspirin pills for the willow bark. Kurama propped her up against his chest and held the tea to her lips. She drank, and the Red Claw quickly put her into a deep sleep.  
  
At last, Kurama turned to the Spirit Detective. "I've done everything I can do for her. Now, we have to wait and see if the poison kills her. If she survives tonight, we should ask Yukina to come over and help speed up the healing." Yusuke nodded, and Kurama continued, "Now that the crisis has passed, care to explain what happened?  
  
Yusuke sighed. "I can try, but I don't understand completely myself. I was walking home when I felt a youkai's energy from inside an old warehouse. When I went in, I was ambushed and tied up by hundreds of strings. When I tried to use my reigann, it felt as if I'd shot myself.  
  
"Ki-thread?" Kurama asked. "It's a powerful technique, but there are very few demons who can use it effectively.  
  
"Well, it was pretty damned effective. I was tied up, then two youkai who called each other ÔBlack Widow' and ÔScorpion' appeared and argued over whether I should die now or later.  
  
"And this female defended you?  
  
"No; she wanted to kill me immediately. Something about being afraid Hiei would show up, I think. Anyway, the Scorpion demon wanted to Ôhave fun' with the victim first, and she disagreed. Then, Scorpion hit her with a poisoned spine and tried to kill me; that's when she jumped in front of me and took the second stinger, as well.  
  
"But why would she choose to protect you?  
  
"She said something about revenge and talked about a wolf chewing off it's own foot. Whatever she meant by that, it was only a few moments after she was hit by the second stinger that the strings disappeared. She told me how to kill the youkai, and I killed it. That's it.  
  
Kurama shook his head. "Her actions make no sense. Why did she try to kill you at the beginning? Why did she change her mind?  
  
Yusuke shrugged and yawned. "Dunno. I'll ask her when she wakes up." He yawned again. Yusuke went to bed, and Kurama volunteered to watch the sleeping Kira in case there were any changes in her condition. 


	5. Uneasy Alliance

Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement, and also for the feedback. I've changed the misspelled name.  
  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
Kira woke at four in the morning and looked around carefully. Kurama was sitting in a straight-backed chair with his eyes closed. Kira listened to his deep, even breathing for two minutes before lifting herself off the couch and moving to the door. Her hand had just closed around the handle when Kurama said, "You're an assassin, right?" Tira turned back to look at the kitsune, whose large emerald eyes were luminous in the predawn light. "The tattoo on the back of your neck. I've seen it before." He stood with the unusual grace of his kind and walked over to her. "You were contracted to kill Yuuske." It wasn't a question. "Who paid for the killing?  
Kira, expressionless, shrugged and took a moment to study the fox-demon in his human form. His hair was thick and beautiful, redder than blood. He smelled vaguely of roses, and Kira recalled that his main weapon was the rose-whip. He probably had it hidden in his hair.  
"I asked you a question." Kurama's voice became even quieter and deadlier.  
"All I know is that the client is an enemy of Enma." That wasn't quite true. She also knew that he was able to pay an incredible sum of money to get the Spirit Detective out of the way, and he was willing to pay the sum. The fact that he hired an assassin meant that he couldn't take the target out himself: probably too weak, but possibly he needed his own connection to Urameshi's death hidden. Kira wasn't going to say such things to a one-thousand-year-old fox-demon; he could figure them out for himself.  
"Where are you headed?" Kira was silent. "You tried to sneak out. Where were you going?  
"Anywhere. If I can keep moving . . .  
"Then maybe the Assassin's Guild won't catch you?" Kurama met her eyes, and she looked away.  
"Urameshi told you?  
"He didn't have to. I know that the Guild's tattoos are designed to hide spirit energy. I could sense yours while you were unconscious, which means the Guild has stopped protecting you. And the Guild's protection lasts until an assassin dies or the Guild decides to dispose of him.  
Kira sagged against the doorframe, refusing to meet his eyes. "It will take a month to fade. Until then, it acts as a beacon.  
"You're too weak to run.  
"I'm too weak to fight. I don't have a choice.  
"You could stay here.  
She looked up angrily. "I don't need anyone's help, and I don't want your pity.  
"I don't pity you. You tried to kill my friend, remember?" Kurama cocked his head. "Nevertheless, I'm offering you a chance to help protect him.  
"Why the hell should I care about the brat?  
"You nearly killed yourself to save him.  
Giving up on escaping for the moment, Kira walked back to the couch, sat down and rested her head in her hands. "I needed to use him for my revenge. I didn't care whether he lived or died after that.  
Kurama sat down next to her, felt her stiffen apprehensively. "If we work together, we might all survive this. Isn't that a good enough reason for a temporary alliance?  
Without looking up, Kira muttered, "You aren't going to leave me alone until I agree?  
"No," Kurama admitted cheerfully.  
"Fine. I agree to a temporary alliance. Just remember: I don't want or need any Ôfriends', got it?" Kira glared at the kitsune.  
"Wouldn't dream of it," Kurama assured her. "So, as a temporary ally, I suggest you get some sleep. You were in critical condition just a few hours ago; you need time to recover." Kurama gathered his belongings and pulled on his jacket.  
"Where are you going?  
"Now that we're working together, there's no reason to watch you. I'm going home." The demon in human form gave her a friendly grin. "I'll see you tomorrow.  
Kira paid careful attention to his spirit energy, which she could feel receding into the distance. She waited patiently for it to come closer again, but it didn't. "He actually left?" Kira wondered. "Impossible. He wouldn't trust me so quickly." But she couldn't deny the fact that he was no longer nearby.  
  
Kurama couldn't help but smile as he walked home. Although he was nervous about the assassins, it would take them a few days to reorganize, and Kurama knew that Yusuke had just gained an ally. A reluctant and defensive one, true, but the Spirit Detective had charmed Hiei; surely he could win the cooperation of a female who needed his protection. Ah, yes, Hiei: Kira's ferocity and surliness certainly reminded Kurama of the little fire demon. Kurama hoped he would be there to see the two demons meet each other. It would be an interesting fireworks show.  
  
At 10AM, Yusuke's mom staggered out of her bedroom, holding her aching head. She went to sit down on the couch, but realized someone was sleeping on it.  
"Yusuke? Where the hell is the aspirin?  
She accepted the aspirin bottle while Yusuke got her a glass of water. He was being unusually considerate this morning, and he was even being quiet for once instead of nagging her about her drinking. She took four or five of the pills and downed the water, then wondered if the room would stop rocking back and forth long enough for her to get a beer from the refrigerator. It was ironic that the only thing that could make this headache go away was the very thing that had caused the headache in the first place. "Could you get me a beer, honey?" she tried, and was gratified when her son went back to the kitchen to get one.  
Someone in the hallway yawned loudly and said, "Mom? You look terrible.  
"Sweet of you to notice, dear," she answered automatically before noticing that something was wrong with this situation. If Yusuke was in front of her, then who was in the kitchen getting her a beer?  
"Hey, Mom, have you seen--  
"I'm in the kitchen, Urameshi," called an alto voice. The speaker entered the room a moment later with a beer. "For you, Urameshi-san.  
"Oh, thanks dear . . . ah, Yusuke? Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Yusuke's mother was wondering if her son had replaced Keiko, because his new friend was a striking woman of about twenty.  
"Mom, this is Kira. She's a--  
The former assassin interrupted, "--going to be staying here for a while, if that's OK with you, Urameshi-san.  
"Sure, sure, any of Yusuke's friends are welcome. Have you known my son long?  
Yusuke grabbed Kira's arm and dragged her to the kitchen. "Who said you could stay here?" he demanded with annoyance.  
"Kurama.  
"Oh." The Spirit Detective struggled for a way to respond to that. "But, you can't just . . .  
"It's temporary, I assure you. For the moment, you need my help.  
"I do not need anyone's--" Yusuke huffed.  
There was a knock on the door, and the Spirit Detective went to answer. His mom was still too hung-over to get the door.  
Keiko was standing there in her sailor-suit, clearly furious. "Urameshi Yusuke! WHY AREN'T YOU AT SCHOOL?" Crossing her arms, she continued, "This is the third day in a row! And Takenaka-san said that if you don't--" Keiko paused in her finger waggling to stare at the young woman standing in Urameshi's apartment. "Yusuke, who's this?  
"She's just a, uh, a friend, Keiko. She spent the night with me. Nothing to worry about." Yusuke didn't want her caught up in his Spirit World problems again.  
"Oh. I see." Keiko became suddenly very cold and formal. "Well, Urameshi, I just came to give you a warning, because I'm class representative, and I . . . I . . . I . . ." She trailed away as tears came to her eyes. "Yusuke, how could you? I hate you!" she sobbed and ran down the steps.  
"Keiko . . .?" What had gotten into her? She was acting very strange.  
He turned to see Kira smirking at him. "You might want to go after your girlfriend, Urameshi.  
"Keiko's not my girl--  
"You should probably explain the reason why I spent the night." She grinned wider. "Unless you want her to tell the whole school that you're cheating on her with an older woman?  
Yusuke banged his fist against his head. He'd been so concerned about assuring Keiko that he wasn't in danger, he hadn't thought about how she would interpret the situation. When he caught up with her just outside the building, he said, "Keiko, wait! Let me explain!  
"Hmph," replied Keiko airily.  
"That girl . . . she didn't . . . well, actually, she did spend the night, but it's not what you think!  
"Oh? And how do you know what I think, Urameshi?  
"Well, I know it looked bad, but I honestly don't know the girl! I only met the girl yesterday!  
SLAP! "If you didn't know her, why did you spend the night with her? Pervert!  
Yusuke peeled himself off the sidewalk. "Keiko, listen to me! She's a demon, she was helping me fight another demon, and I brought her back to my apartment Ôcause she was hurt. I let her sleep on the couch.  
"Then you didn't . . . and she wasn't . . . Oh, Yusuke! I thought that you and she . . ." She was crying again, but she threw her arms around him. Yusuke was wondering if this was a good chance to grab a squeeze, but remembered the force of her slap and thought he might recover for a minute first. "Hold on. If she's a demon, that means . . . Do you have another Spirit Detective assignment?  
"Uh, no, of course not.  
"You do! Oh, Yusuke, be careful! Last time, you almost died!" She was sobbing in earnest now, sniffling and crying into the front of Urameshi's jacket.  
The Spirit Detective comforted her awkwardly. "There, there, Keiko, it's OK. Really, I don't have another assignment. It was just a random demon that was trying to kill me . . ." Keiko sobbed harder, and Yusuke wanted to kick himself for saying that. "But the important thing is, Keiko, that I'm OK and it's all over. You don't need to worry about it." He wiped away her tears.  
"It's over now?  
"Yeah.  
"Then WHY AREN'T YOU IN SCHOOL?" Keiko bellowed. "I want you at school in twenty minutes, got it?" She turned and flounced away. Yusuke couldn't stop himself for leaning over to try to get a glimpse of her undies, but she was already too far away. Shrugging, he figured he might as well do as Keiko said. At least he'd have a chance to see Kuwabara and Kurama at school, and he didn't have to actually go to any classes if he didn't want to. 


	6. Information Dealer

Sorry this chapter took so long! I just rented a couple more YYH disks, and they got me really excited about this story again. Look for it to get really long and really action-packed. There's gonna be one fight after another, and a deepening mystery around our hero.  
Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement.  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
It was harder to track Yusuke with her powers inactive, but Kira managed. She was glad she had spent so much time observing him, though. Even when he was out of sight, she had a good guess where he was headed.  
Even without her spirit powers, Kira sensed that someone was following her down one of the dingier allies. Cursing softly, she took a couple of left turns in a row, doubling back on her trail to confuse her pursuer. Up ahead, four boys in high school uniforms lounged around. Judging by the fact they were skipping school, they probably didn't care much about the rules.  
Kira's pursuer called out, "Hey, pretty lady. Where are you going?" Another high-school thug.  
"Perfect," thought Kira, "A gang of little boys, and I'm still too weak to form a single thread." She said aloud, "Sorry, boys, I don't have time to play with you right now. Why don't you run along home?" "Bitch," yelled the one with a gorilla's brow. "You'll pay for that." "Hold on, Goren. We wouldn't want to hurt such a beautiful woman. We should just teach her some manners." Kira waited patiently as the five surrounded her. They tried to coordinate their attack; two moved in at the same time, trying to grab her arms to pin her down. It was child's play to duck out of the way and trip one so he crashed into the other. The one called Goren tried to grab her around the waist from behind-  
Lights exploded behind her eyes when the boy squeezed her side. Kisama! If she didn't end this fast, the wound in her side would start bleeding again. She brought her left foot down on his instep while smashing her head back into his face. His nose broke with a crunching noise. He howled and held on to his bleeding nose.  
"Kaji, you bully!" Kira turned to see the new speaker was none other than the orange-haired idiot, Kuwabara. Worse, he seemed intent on rescuing her. "You and your gang had better clear out, or I, Kuwabara Kazuma, am gonna pound you." "Oh yeah?" Kaji sneered, but he knew he was in over his head. "Fine, you can have the bitch. She was more trouble than she was worth, anyway." Kuwabara flattened the older boy with one punch. "Never insult a lady in front of me, punk. Got it?" The entire right side of Kaji's face was swelling up. He took off after the rest of his gang, who were already running.  
Kuwabara turned gallantly to the woman he just saved. "Are you all right, miss? Those boys can be pretty rough. By the way, I'm Kuwabara Kazuma." Kira half-expected the boy to call himself "Kuwabara the Great," he was swaggering so much. Still, he could be useful . . . "Kuwabara-kun," she said in her best imitation of a motherly voice, "Thank you so much. I wonder if you could help me find a boy your age named Minamino Suichi?" "Oh, you mean Kurama? Oops! Forget I said that. I mean, um, sure I know Suichi-kun. But I've never heard of Kurama." Not the brightest human, but clearly noble and brave. Unfortunately, Kira respected none of these traits; nobility and bravery were often stupidity in disguise. "Then perhaps you could tell me where Minamino-kun is?" "Certainly, Miss . . . uh?" "How silly of me. You can call me Nigenu." "Certainly, Nigenu-san. I'll take you to his school." "What a sweet young man you are, Kuwabara-kun.  
  
The principal of Minamino's middle school was flustered and beaming as he escorted Kira down the hall. "We are honored, truly honored, Nigenu-san, to have a representative from an American high school interested in one of our students." "The Dresden school is a school that seeks to embrace the very best students internationally. Of course, you've heard of the number one ranked high school in America in biology studies. With a middle school as excellent as your own must have representatives coming to interview students all the time." "Ah, of course, Nigenu-san. But the Dresden school! Even here in Japan everyone has heard of the Dresden school." "I am so glad to hear it." "Here is Suichi's classroom, I'll just get him for you." The teacher opened the door and called, "Sensei, I need to speak with Minamino Suichi-kun. It is a matter of greatest urgency." Kurama emerged from the classroom with a puzzled look on his face. "Sir? What is it? Has something happened to my mother?" "Oh, no, Suichi-kun," the principal assured him, patting him awkwardly on the back. "It is a wonderful opportunity. The Dresden school in the United States is considering you as a possible student!" "Nani? What are you talking about . . ." Kurama stopped suddenly when he saw Kira.  
She said, "Minamino-kun, it is a great honor to be considered by the Dresden private high school. We should get started with the interview and evaluation process right away. Please follow me." The principal said, "Wait! Where are you going? Shouldn't I come with you?" Kira flashed him a dazzling smile. "I would love it if you could come along, but I'm afraid the student must be evaluated alone. However, I will be returning shortly for interviews with his teachers and, naturally, his principal." "Oh." "The battery of tests will take the rest of the week to complete. You will excuse him, of course." She swept down the stairs without waiting for a reply, Kurama following.  
Kurama grabbed her arm. "What do you think you're doing?" "We need to talk right now. And you will be unable to come to school for a couple of days. This was the simplest way." "How did you find me?" "A friend of yours. He's been waiting outside." Kuwabara ran up to them. "Hey Kurama! I mean, uh, Minamino . . ." "Don't worry about it, Kuwabara," Kurama snapped, "She knows both of my names." "All three of them, actually. Yoko, Kurama, and Minamino. That's what I came to warn you about." Kurama said incredulously, "You pulled me out of school to tell me you knew my name?" "Yes. If I know your alter-ego of darling little Minamino Suichi, so does the Guild. Which means Suichi's mother may be in danger. And Urameshi's mother, and Kuwabara's sister." Kurama paled. "Kuso! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" For a moment, it looked as if Kira was going to make a scathing retort, but then she sighed. "Gomen nasai. I didn't think of it until an hour ago." "Hold on," Kuwabara said with a note of desperation. "Kurama-- I mean, Suichi, or whatever . . . you know Nigenu-san? And what's this about our families being in danger?" "Nigenu-san?" Kurama asked blankly.  
Kira said, "You aren't the only one with more than one name. Listen, Kurama, this was a mistake from the beginning. I'm skipping town. Good luck protecting Urameshi." Kurama protested, "Wait, Kira. You can't leave now, you promised . . . What happened to you? The back of your head is bleeding." Kuwabara growled, "Did one of those punks hurt you? I'll grind them into the ground!" "Actually, it's their blood. Shouldn't have head-butted that ningen." She explained to Kurama, "I met a lovely gang of high school boys. I didn't even have the strength to get rid of them; I had to be rescued by this shining example of chivalry here. I'll be useless in any real fight." "Hey!" Kuwabara yelled, stung, "Kurama, what'd she call me? What's a chivalry?" Ignoring him, Kurama argued, "Kira, you may not be able to fight right now, but you have valuable information about what we're up against. We need your help almost as much as you need ours." "I won't agree to stay for long, but I'll tell you where you can get the information you need. On the east side of town, there's a yokai who deals in information." "Like a drug dealer?" "Only much more expensive." Ranka was an old yokai who walked using a cane. His shop was a dusty old herb store with a sign on the front door that said "Out of Business." Ranka's real business, however, was thriving. No one knew exactly how he gathered his information-- some said he could talk to inanimate objects, or that his left eye could see everywhere in the world at once, or that he had a vast spy network working for him. Kira didn't particularly care, as long as his information was good.  
Ranka croaked, "Kira, child, it has been a long time since you last visited me. And you have brought two friends. Lovely." "It has been some time since I have needed your counsel, jii-san. Or been able to afford it." The two exchanged formal greetings and polite chitchat for several minutes before Kira finally brought up the reason for her visit.  
"I have need of your wisdom and vast knowledge, jii-san. How could I repay you for your generosity? Unless you would accept my word of honor . . .?" "Child, it pains me to say that I cannot give away my services in exchange for the promise of a doomed woman. You are becoming extremely popular among the other assassins." Kurama stepped firmly on Kuwabara's foot to stop him from interrupting.  
"Most of whom have been waiting years for this opportunity, I know. Well, jii-san, if you won't accept my word, and my money is out of my reach, I suppose there is nothing that can be done." "I am sorry, my child." "If only I had thought to carry more than these three pieces of gold with me. I will not disturb you any longer, jii-san." The old yokai's eyes bulged with greed. "Wait! I just had a change of heart. As pitiful as that fee is, I will accept it because we are such old friends." "You are too kind." When Ranka spoke again, it was in a brisk, businesslike tone completely unlike the fatherly voice he had adopted during bargaining. "What do you want to know?" "What are the prices on my own and Urameshi's heads?" "Urameshi brings in ten thousand yen. Your head is worth thirty thousand." "Are either of us on the open market yet?" "No, the Guild has drawn up contracts. Urameshi's assassin is Takho, the rat. The one hired for you is . . . Akei." "Kuso. Akei's strong." "He has another assignment first. He shouldn't attack for a day, at least." "And Takho?" Kira seemed to find his very name distasteful.  
"The rat might attack any time now." "I understand. Thank you, jii-san. We should be going now." "Why don't your friends wait outside for a moment? I have a question I wish to ask you, Kira-chan." Kira nodded to her friends, who complied. "Kira," the old man asked, "your friends were Kurama Yoko, also known as Minamino Suichi, and Kuwabara Kazuma." "Is that your question?" "No. What I want to know is, why don't you tell them the truth about why the Guild wants you eliminated?" "I don't know what you're talking about, jiji," Kira said in a cold voice.  
"I'm talking about the little boy, Shoji Hata--" "Shut up!" Kira struggled to control her expression, carefully smoothing it to its usual impassivity. "Jii-san, perhaps you could forget that little detail?" She slipped two more gold coins across the table to him.  
"It never even happened," Ranka agreed solemnly. As she reached the door, he said, "One more thing, Kira-chan. You'll need this." Kira automatically caught what Ranka threw at her. A katana. With a suspicious look at the old man, she drew it carefully and whistled. A few strokes confirmed what she had already guessed: this was an incredible sword. The balance was perfect, the edge was sharper than a razor, and there wasn't a chink along the entire blade. Regretfully, she sheathed it again. "I can't afford this, jii-san." "What you can't afford is to refuse it. That sword is the Kaze no Suzaku." "What?! The legendary emperor's sword? Jii-san, this sword is worth more than my life!" "It's not a gift, girl, it's an investment. Take it and go, before I change my mind." "I . . . I don't know how to thank you, Ojii-san." "Why don't you start by not letting yourself get killed? Now get out of here. You're scaring off my customers.  
  
"So he gave you a sword?" Kuwabara asked. "Well, I've got a much cooler one. Watch this: Spirit Sword!" Kira snapped, "We don't have time for your idiocy. The assassin may be attacking Urameshi right now. We have to hurry." She started running, but Kurama cut her off. "What's your problem, fox? Get out of my way." "No. You're still hurt to badly to run. We won't be able to help him if we're all exhausted. We'll take the subway." Kira paled. "The train? The one under the ground?" Kuwabara asked, "You don't like subways?" She clenched and unclenched her fists a few times before muttering, "Let's get this over with." When they reached the stop, Kuwabara and Kurama had to pry Kira's fingers from the train's vertical poles. She muttered angrily, "Why would anyone want to travel inside the earth?" When she made it to the surface, she took a deep breath and shrugged off the last of her claustrophobia. "This way," she said, instantly orienting herself.  
Halfway down one of the alleys, she yelled, "Kuwabara, stop!" "Huh? I thought we were in a hurry-- HEY!" he yelped as a knife flew by right in front of his nose.  
"What is it, Kira?" Kurama asked.  
Kuwabara yelled, "What the hell did you think you were doing?!? You could have killed me!" Kurama told him, "Only if she was trying. She has good aim." He went to retrieve the knife from where it was pinning a creature that looked like a small lizard to the wall.  
"Don't bother," said Kira. "The knife'll stink too badly to ever use again, anyway." "What's the creature?" Examining it closer, Kurama thought it looked less and less like a lizard. It had six legs, no tail, and it's skin looked as if it was covered with boils. The smell was nauseous.  
"Let's go: Takho must be close." Kuwabara said, "Tak-who?" "Takho, the assassin going after Urameshi. He creates these creatures: they're demons of the lowest order. Let's move." Kira ran, disregarding Kurama's warnings to slow down. It didn't matter if her wounds opened, she just had to warn the Urameshi boy . . .  
Kira saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, and a fraction of a second later, a blade sliced through the air where her head had been. Off-balance, she retreated before the flashing blade until she backed into a concrete wall. She jumped over a low slash, which sent sparks off the wall. She landed a lucky kick on her opponent's chest before her feet touched the ground again. Breathless, she snarled, "Kuso, Hiei, you have the worst timing." 


	7. Unpleasant Reunion

Sorry Ôbout the cliffie! It was too perfect to pass up. Hiei and Kira meet again and, as Kurama predicted, there are plenty of sparks! The mysteries surrounding Hiei and Kira's shared past deepen.  
Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement.  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
Hiei regarded her impassively. "Draw your sword," he said in his deep voice.  
"I don't have time for this!" Kira cried. "We can work this out later-- unh!" Hiei had struck her on the side of the head with the flat of his blade.  
"We settle it now. Draw." Kira unsheathed her sword with enough force to push her opponent back. She tried to keep him back, to take advantage of her slightly longer reach.  
Kurama and Kuwabara reached the corner, and were shocked to see Hiei attacking their new ally. Kurama yelled, "Stop! Hiei, she's a friend. Stop it!" Hiei mocked his opponent, "A friend? Who did you tell them you are?" He was much stronger physically, and the force of his blows were making her arms and hands go numb. Unable to continue blocking, Kira braced herself against the wall and concentrated on deflecting the blows just enough that they would go wide. Hiei was forced to stop using stabbing blows, for fear of snapping off the tip of the blade on the concrete. He said quietly, "You should have paid more attention to my lessons, Kira. You shouldn't put your back against a wall unless you are surrounded or injured." "I listened, sensei." Sweat stood out on Kira's face as she tried to match the speed of Hiei's strokes. Her sword-grip was getting weaker; she was using two hands now, but both were completely numb. She thought grimly, "Four more blows, and I'm finished. Not even a legendary sword can save me; I'm still too weak." "Hiei, stop!" Kurama yelled, as he stepped between the two combatants. Both froze, astonished. Kira slumped down to her knees, gasping for breath.  
"KURAMA!" Hiei screamed, "What the HELL do you think you're doing? Do you really want me to run you through again?" Kira fully expected the anger in Hiei's voice, but was unprepared for the look in his eyes as he stared at Kurama: naked terror. His sword was trembling. When he spoke again, his voice was sadder, almost asking for forgiveness. "I almost killed you. What were you thinking?" "Like she said, we don't have time for this. Urameshi's in trouble." "Why do you trust that bitch? Do you even know what she is?" "I said before. She's a friend." Kurama crouched down beside Kira. "We have to find Yusuke." Kuwabara pointed out, "It looks like he found us." Yusuke sprinted around the corner a couple of blocks away. Behind him, the ground rippled. Thousands of the lizard-like monsters were chasing Urameshi; more waited in side-alleys, funneling the boy towards his companions. Yusuke fired his spirit gun; the vermin crawled over the ones who were charred by the blast and kept coming.  
Kuwabara said, "Guys? I think we'd better run." "Hn," muttered Hiei, "For once, I agree with carrot-head." The main alley was blocked, so they raced down a side alley instead. Kurama asked quietly, "Does it seem like we're being driven someplace in particular?" "Doubtless where Takho's waiting with another thousand of the demons," said Kira.  
Kuwabara stopped. "Then we should make our stand right here." "No good," Kira panted, "the only way to stop the vermin is to kill Takho. At least he's leading us towards him." Hiei rounded the corner and skidded to a stop; Kuwabara tripped over him into Yusuke, who shoved Kurama. There was a wall of monsters slithering over each other directly ahead. Before they could start yelling at each other, Kira called, "Listen up. Takho's a shape shifter, so we can't trust any lone individual, got it? He can assume the shape of anyone important to you, so if you see any of your dead girlfriends, kill her again. Hesitate and he'll kill you with a poisoned needle." She kicked open a window leading to the basement and called to the others, "One of you should come with me." Kurama stepped forward, but Hiei pulled him back. "There's no way I'm taking my eyes off that bitch." Kira said, "Fine. Hiei's with me. The rest of you, search the basement of the building opposite us. Kill anyone who shows up without his partner." Yusuke interrupted, "Why are we searching the basements?" "The assassin likes his rat-holes dark and cramped." She disappeared through the window. There were the sounds of a sword slicing through meat, then she called up, "Hiei, I could use some light." Hiei jumped in after her with his hands ablaze. The air became thick with the smoke and stench of charred lizards. The mortal flame lit the room almost as well as electric lights. Kira kicked open one of the closet doors, then moved to the next. There was movement inside the second closet. Hiei saw a glimpse of light blue hair and red eyes from a demon no larger than a child. Kira's sword slashed out, but never connected; an unexpected blow from the side knocked her off her feet. Hiei had struck her with the dull edge of his katana and stood protectively in front of Yukina.  
"Baka," Kira hissed.  
Hiei snarled, "I won't let you hurt Yukina!" A throwing knife whistled through the air past Hiei's right ear and buried itself in Yukina's wrist. Four long needles plinked to the concrete floor. Yukina wailed in pain and screamed, "You bitch! I'll gouge your eyes out!" Then she turned her great red eyes on Hiei. "Won't you please protect me?" she pleaded.  
Hiei backed away from her, horrified. Kira said, "Kill her, damn it!" Hiei could only shake his head and back away. "If you can't kill her," said Kira, "then stay out of my way this time." Yukina turned her huge eyes on Kira as her elfin features melted and reformed themselves into those of a four- or five-year-old boy. He cringed before the demons and begged, "Don't hurt me!" "Kuso," Kira whispered as her sword hissed through the air, "You're a real bastard, Takho." There was the unmistakable sound of a sword slicing through flesh and bone, then the head rolled off as the child's body fell.  
Hiei watched the lizard's bodies shimmer and fade away into nothingness. He then looked up at Kira, who was calmly wiping her sword on the child's corpse. "Why doesn't the demon assume it's true form? Now that it's magic is gone . . ." Kira shrugged. "I'm not positive this rat had a true form. You'd better put out the flames; there's not enough ventilation in here to prevent suffocation if you use up the oxygen." Hiei extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand; only a single magical flame glittered in his left hand. "Who was the kid?" "Dunno," said Kira, "Just an attempt to appeal to my maternal instincts." Hiei could tell she was lying by the casualness of her voice. "Was he a brother? Or . . . Kira, did you have a son?" The flame picked out highlights in her short, spiky hair as she turned around very slowly. Her eyes glittered within dark sockets. They stood for several long moments, looking at each other.  
When Kira spoke, her voice was husky with suppressed emotion. "A child? Me?" Her derisive laughter cracked. "Me bear a child into this hellish world? I'd be even more of a bastard than you." Hiei grabbed her arm. "You would have preferred that I left you to bleed to death when we first met?" Kira looked down into the ruby eyes and sighed. "I know you did all you could for me. But when you went away, you left me with nothing but the blood on my hands. Letting me bleed to death years ago would have been a mercy." The flame Hiei held in his hand was reflected in the young woman's eyes. Yusuke and Kuwabara's loud voices came from outside. Hiei vaulted through the open window to join them. Kira pulled herself up part way with her arms, then felt strong hands tugging her the rest of the way through. She didn't meet Hiei's eyes as he helped her stand, and he didn't try to meet hers. The wounds from seven years previous were still unhealed. 


	8. A Walk in the Park

The mystery surrounding Hiei and Kira's shared past are being slowly revealed, and a new mystery about Kira's powers is hinted at.  
Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement.  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
"I don't see what the big deal is," Yusuke complained. "It's just a couple of scratches." Kira snorted. "That's what they all say, until the nausea and vertigo hit you. The fever's not very pleasant, either." Kuwabara whistled. "The lizards were that poisonous? Why didn't you warn us?" "It's a mild poison, but Urameshi has at least twelve bites. How are you and Kurama?" Kurama said, "Neither of us were bitten. The lizards ignored us and swarmed over Yusuke." Back at Urameshi's apartment, Kurama made him drink a foul-smelling potion and go to bed. He explained, "I can counteract the fever, but we mostly need to wait for the poison to run its course. Yusuke should be fine in 36 hours." "Hn," Hiei muttered, "He shouldn't have let himself get bitten in the first place." The short demon opened the 14th story window and jumped to the sill.  
"You've decided to let me live?" Kira leaned casually against a door frame, watching her former teacher closely. Hiei didn't answer. Kira asked, "Goodness, Hiei, you're not going soft, are you?" Hiei's glare ignited the wallpaper next to Kira's head, but she patted out the flame without taking her eyes off him. "Traitors like you aren't generally worth the effort to kill," Hiei growled. "But if you survive your attempt to baby-sit Yusuke, I'll make an exception." He leapt from the sill and disappeared.  
Kurama asked, "Traitor?" Kira grinned. "He and I were partners. Both of us took care of ourselves and didn't care much if the other got screwed." Holding her sheathed sword like a teddy bear, she curled up on the couch. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me if any assassins come looking for me." Kurama and Kuwabara also stayed with Yusuke while he was feeling unwell. Kuwabara was snoring loudly on the floor of Urameshi's room. Kurama spread out his books on the coffee table in the living room and did his homework. Late in the evening, he realized that Kira was watching him. He said, "I didn't realize you were awake." Kira ignored that and asked, "Why are you doing your homework? Why do you bother?" Kurama shrugged. "It makes my mother happy." At the startled look on Kira's face, he explained, "I was badly wounded fourteen years ago. To survive, I took the form of a human fetus in a human woman. I refer to this woman as my mother." There was a long silence. "Isn't there someone you care about?" Kira seemed not to have heard the question. She mused quietly, "I've never seen this side of Hiei before." "Yes, he does have quite a temper." Kira blinked, surprised. "I wasn't talking about his temper. I meant that I've never seen Hiei so unguarded. He must really trust the three of you." Kurama's chin almost hit the table. Hiei unguarded? Hiei trusting? What was she talking about? Kira stared out the window Hiei had gone through. After several minutes, she walked to the door.  
"Going somewhere?" Kurama asked.  
"You going to stop me again?" "If you don't rest, you won't recover. Where are you going?" Kira flashed him an angry look. "None of your damn business." Kurama narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong? What aren't you telling us?" For a moment it looked as if she wasn't going to answer, but she finally said, "Do you remember what the old man said? The Assassin's Guild has sent Akei for me. Akei is . . . strong. Very strong." "You're scared?" Kurama was prepared for a violent denial, but Kira just nodded slowly. Surprised, he offered, "I'll come with you. I'm getting cramped from all this studying." Kira looked up into his friendly green eyes. "You aren't strong enough to beat Akei. Nor is the orange-haired idiot. And Urameshi's too sick." Kurama stiffened slightly at this affront to his pride, but said simply, "Then let's hope he doesn't attack until Yusuke's recovered. Come with me; there's a nice park a couple of blocks from here." Kira hesitated. "Fine. Have it your way," she said in a cool voice.  
The two didn't talk on the walk to the park. Kira refused to tuck her sword and sheath into her belt, but carried it in her left hand. Kurama hoped they wouldn't get stopped by the police. When they reached the park, he leaned against a tree while Kira prowled the perimeter restlessly.  
"Why don't you relax?" Kira glared at the red-haired fox demon. "Have you ever watched a demon be disemboweled and eaten by a wild animal while he's still alive?" Kurama blinked. "You don't understand. This demon almost destroyed me when I had all of my powers." "You fought?" "The Guild needs to be able to rank its members. There are few assassins I haven't fought. A couple of years ago, I challenged a high-ranked assassin to a death-duel." "Akei?" "No, this demon was only high C-class. I killed him and took his rank. Then Akei challenged me, crushed my technique and came close to destroying me completely. He snapped three of the seven primary threads." Kurama furrowed his brow. "You're talking about ki-threads? I thought they were unbreakable." "That's why Akei's so dangerous. My attack used the seven threads nearly simultaneously, but his speed is such that he was able to snap three of them before the others trapped him. He also had the strength to break them." "Why didn't you just make more? Yusuke said you attacked with hundreds of strings." "It's impossible to make more than seven. I doubled back the threads when I attacked Yusuke. I doubled them back when I attacked Akei as well, but it made no difference. He's too strong." A pleasant bass answered, "No, you are simply too weak." Kira whirled around and drew her sword; Kurama grabbed the rose he always kept in his hair. Akei stepped out of the bushes. He was a large demon, fully seven feet tall with broad shoulders and hands the size of dinner plates. The man smiled broadly, showing all of his teeth. "Do you really think that a sword will help you? You're too scared to move; I can smell your fear from here." Kira braced herself for an attack. Kurama transformed the rose into his signature rose whip and flicked it at Akei. The larger demon barely moved, but somehow dodged the stroke-- and the next one, and the next. Again without seeming to move, Akei suddenly appeared less than a foot in front of Kurama and grabbed the fox demon by the throat, lifting him easily into the air.  
Instantly, the grass at Akei's feet came alive and grabbed at him. The large demon lifted his foot slightly, uprooting the plants without any effort at all. He batted the rose whip out of Kurama's hand. As black spots crept into the edge of his vision, Kurama desperately summoned the rose petals to attack. Akei simply swung the fox demon around, using him as a shield. The concussive force of being thrown to the ground knocked the rest of the fight out of Kurama, who drifted in and out of consciousness.  
Akei looked at Kira and smiled again. She raised her sword, but it was already too late. He was in front of her before she could react. She swung, but he caught the sword by the blade and twisted it out of her grasp. He tossed the weapon aside. He asked, "Aren't you going to run? It's so much more fun that way." 


	9. Broken Thread

Kira's in deeper trouble than her friends suspect. How do her ki-threads work and what are they made of?  
Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement.  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Kira saw Kurama's eyes flickering open. He was reviving. She spoke to him telepathically, telling him, "Run. Get help. Find Hiei." Akei said, "You're not going to run? Then why not attack? I love the sound of your threads snapping." Kira shuddered. "Stupid girl, I hurried through my last job because I was looking forward to destroying your soul." He leaned so close to her that she gagged at the foul heat of his breath. "In fact, I was so rushed that I didn't get a chance to eat any supper . . ." The transformation took only moments. Akei's fingers lengthened into claws, his teeth grew and became sharp, and his eyes turned a feral yellow. The bear-monster tackled Kira and opened its great jaws around her skull. Shutting her purple eyes, Kira fought the mindless terror that told her to lash out in any way possible.  
Then the crushing weight was suddenly gone, along with the heat of the monster's breath. The creature let out a hideous scream as the rose whip inflicted another minor wound on its back. Kira heard Kurama's telepathic response, "I called you a friend earlier. I don't abandon my friends." The monster was on top of Kurama within a second, knocking the air from his lungs and sinking his teeth into the fox-demon's left arm. A second later, it was jerked into the air, where it hung suspended by almost-invisible threads. Kurama looked over at Kira where she knelt, surrounded by the purple aura of her power. He said, "I didn't think you had the power to use your ki-threads." She turned to look at him. Her forehead was covered with sweat, but her face was deathly pale in the light of the street lamps. He could hear her breathing heavily, and her eyes were dull. "I don't," she gasped, "I'm on borrowed time. Hurry and find Hiei." Kurama said, "I told you before. I don't abandon friends. Rose whip!" The whip flicked towards Akei, but became tangled in the ki-threads and didn't reach him. Kira, however, flinched as if she had been struck.  
"Stop, Kurama, please! You'll break the threads . . ." She was trembling. "Please . . . Hiei . . ." Kurama frowned, but had no choice. Where could he look for Hiei, though? Clutching his bleeding left arm, Kurama ran.  
Kira bent double and concentrated on continuing to breathe. She heard Akei's laughter, and looked up to see that he had transformed back to his human shape. "I wouldn't have believed it. Black Widow, selflessly sacrificing herself? The Black Widow who betrayed the one who raised her? Do you really expect Hiei to help you after you ratted him out to the Guild?" Akei tugged against the strings, and chuckled at her gasp of pain. "Don't faint yet. The real fun hasn't started." He moved one hammy hand to grab a couple of the threads.  
Kira's mind was foggy with pain and weakness. She was shivering, and so were all of the threads. They were vibrating and creating beautiful, pure tones that harmonized perfectly . . . except that one tone was missing. When Akei grabbed a couple of the strings, the sound became discordant and harsh. She watched in a daze as the thread stretched thinner and thinner, and snapped.  
The sound of the snapping thread seared into her mind and body. Her soul's scream woke every human psychic and rei-sensitive demon for miles.  
Akei slapped her face lightly, bringing her back around. She noticed that he had freed himself, but carried the five unbroken threads in his left hand. He said, "I'll destroy the other pieces of your soul momentarily. But first, tell me why you are holding back. It isn't like you." He waited, watching her struggle for each breath. "Why didn't you attack with the seventh thread?" He waited again, but Kira didn't try to speak.  
He pulled at another thread. Again, Kira heard the string's note rising as it was pulled tighter. The thread approached the breaking point.  
Fire erupted around the two demons. In his surprise, Akei released the ki-threads. The shimmering strings melted back inside Kira's body. Hiei leapt between Kira and her attacker, his aura flaming red and yellow. His Jagan was open and glowing.  
Someone grabbed Kira around the waist from behind. "It's me. Don't worry," Kurama said in his soft voice. "We'd better get back. Hiei's attacks can be explosive." "Hai," Kira agreed, allowing Kurama to half-carry her to the edge of the park. "How did you find him?" "Just after your psychic scream," the fox-demon said, "Hiei's aura flared. I haven't seen him this powered-up since he took the Black Dragon into his own body. I found him while he was running here." Kira relaxed back into Kurama's arms. She smelled the sharp tang of blood. "Kurama, your arm--" "--has already stopped bleeding," he assured her. "It's thanks to you that Akei didn't rip it off." Akei was backing away from Hiei, his eyes nervous but greedy. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous master-assassin. Did you come to rescue your ex-partner?" Hiei stayed where he was, poised and still. "Why bother? She's the one who told the Guild the moment you escaped. She put every one of the Guild's assassins on your trail." Hiei snorted. "Baka. I didn't come to save her. I just don't like your smell. Get ready to die." 


	10. Hiei's Fury

If Hiei wants Kira dead, why's he so angry at Akei? Kurama tries to put all the pieces together. Meanwhile, Hiei unleashes his hellish powers.  
Thank you, Ensatsu-Kokoryu-Ha, for all your encouragement.  
I do not own any YYH characters. They belong to their author/creator Yoshihiro Togashi. The "Black Widow" name is also used by Marvel; I don't know anything about that character, so any similarities beyond name are completely coincidental.  
  
Akei blanched slightly, but said, "At long last, I get a chance to fight the great Hiei. I'll take your head, along with the girl's." "Hn. You're welcome to try." The large assassin edged warily around Hiei. Akei gathered his reiki and projected it, until it swirled around him like a tornado. Then he charged Hiei straight-on. The fire-demon grinned and sidestepped so that the punch missed him by a paper's width. As did the next punch, and the next, and the kick. Akei, furious, struck with a barrage of blows that narrowly missed their target. Then he struck out with a punch and a kick at the same moment.  
Hiei avoided the kick by stepping directly into the path of the punch. Hiei raised his right hand as if waving and casually caught the punch. The blow's full force transferred through Hiei's body to the soil he was standing on, which showed stress fractures. The larger demon stared, unbelieving.  
"My turn," Hiei said. His left hook sent Akei flying fifteen feet. Akei twisted midair to land on his feet, but still skidded back from the blow's force. "Let's stop fooling around. Show me your real power." Akei rubbed his cheek and chuckled. "Very well. I see I'll have to take your seriously." He began to pull in the power whirling around him. "It's said that the Black Dragon cannot be controlled completely, that it will turn even on its own master." Hiei waited. "The same could be said of my Beast. Which means that once it begins to tear into your flesh, it won't stop until it is satisfied. Not even I can stop it." Akei grinned widely, showing his growing teeth. His entire body expanded, bulged with muscle and sprouted hair. Instead of making a partial transformation, as he had against Kurama and Kira, he changed into his full beast form.  
The bear-monster raised its head high, sniffing. Saliva dripped between his fangs while he turned and charged Kurama and Kira. Kurama pulled the rose from his hair, but knew it was already too late to summon the Rose Whip. He shoved Kira behind him as the monster slammed him to the ground with an enormous paw. Kurama rolled away just in time to avoid being crushed as the monster punched into the ground. A blur of black-and-white leapt onto the bear's shoulders and drove a sword deep into the creature's shoulder. The monster screamed in pain and swatted at the pesky insect. Hiei hesitated, trying to pull out his sword from where it had lodged in one of the shoulder bones. The blow struck him full in the chest and sent him flying into an oak, which split in two from the impact.  
Kurama summoned his Rose Whip, and sent it at the beast.  
"Stop! Kurama, stay out of it!" "Nani?! Hiei, what do you mean?" Hiei picked himself off the ground and brushed splinters off. "He's mine, fox." The fire demon unwound his scarf and pulled off his cloak, revealing a chiseled torso covered with innumerable scars. Addressing the beast, he said, "You got a real kick out of tearing apart Kira's soul, didn't you? That's why I'm going to let the Black Dragon consume yours." The bear ignored this and charged, but suddenly stopped when he felt Hiei's gathering power and cringed. The beast receded and left Akei standing there, terrified. "Wait! Hiei, don't! I'll give you anything you want!" Hiei looked disgusted. His Jagan glowed, staining his aura's flames black and purple.  
"If it's money you want, I have plenty. Just don't kill me. It wasn't my idea to hurt Kira, the Guild made me! She's not worth protecting anyway. She's not nearly as strong as she seems." "Oh? What would you know about her powers?" Akei leapt at the opening, pouring out his story. "Her abilities don't match with her weak spirit energy. I was ordered to find out her secret, so I challenged her. It's fake: her ki threads aren't made from spirit energy, they're actually spun from . . ." "So you do know." Hiei smiled. "I told you before: it has nothing to do with the girl. I just don't like the way you smell." He raised his right arm, releasing the dragon tattooed there. It tore through Akei, consuming him whole, before turning to attack its master. Howling, it swallowed Hiei's right arm. Groaning with effort, Hiei forced it into dormancy again, until it was no more than a tattoo. He surveyed the ashes for a moment, then started swearing. "Kisama! That bastard!" Kurama cried, "What's wrong? Did Akei escape?" "No. I forgot my sword in his shoulder." Hiei glared at the ashes. "Well, it's incinerated now. Damn." Kurama noticed that Kira was shaking violently in his arms. She tried to muffle the sound, but her laughter spilled forth like ringing bells.  
Hiei warned in a surly voice, "I'm still going to kill you, eventually." Kira replied, "Watch out. If you attack me now, I'll bleed on you. And I won't stop until I win." Hiei snorted, "Hn," but the corners of his eyes crinkled. "At least you don't give up easily." "You should know. You're the one who tried to tame me." Hiei gave her a sidelong glance. "How badly are you hurt?" She shrugged. "Nothing worse than serious bruising. Except that I won't be able to use threads again for a week." Hiei turned to look at Kurama, who smiled weakly. "Nothing's broken, and the bleeding's stopped. I'll be fine by this time tomorrow." "Hn. I guess I'd better take over baby-sitting for now." Kurama asked, "Hiei, how do you feel? I mean--" "If you're asking am I about to fall over from exhaustion, the answer's no. Unlike at the tournament, this time I didn't absorb the Dragon's powers into my body. I'll be back to full power in a couple of hours." Back at Yusuke's apartment, they found Kuwabara hovering over the spirit detective, who was tormented by fever dreams. "Hey, guys! Where have you been? Did you hear that strange scream, too?" Kuwabara snarled at Hiei, who was ignoring him, "Why'd the shrimp come back?" "Because none of you fools seem capable of taking care of yourselves," Hiei retorted without any real anger.  
Kurama took Yusuke's best friend by the elbow and explained, "We all heard the cry, Kuwabara-kun. An assassin attacked Kira, and she . . ." Kurama hesitated, then concluded lamely, ". . . she got hurt, I guess." He turned to the others for an explanation, but they didn't volunteer anything.  
Kuwabara grabbed Kira's hands and vowed, "I'll protect you, Kira-chan. Don't worry. Are you badly hurt?" Kira was taken back by the boy's sudden familiarity. Stepping away from him, she muttered, "That's sweet of you, Kuwabara . . .-kun. But you needn't bother. I'm fine now." Kuwabara frowned. "No you're not. That scream I heard came from the very soul." Kira became rigid, but Kuwabara plowed on, "I can see that your aura's weak, but it's something even more serious. Like a part of you is missing, or broken . . ." "Don't be ridiculous." The calm of her words was belied by her clenched jaw. Kurama said her name, but she ignored him and curled up on the couch, hugging her sword to her chest. Hiei also ignored them and perched on the sill of the open window. He also clutched his sword to his chest.  
"What's going on, guys? C'mon, just tell me." Kuwabara scowled. "Kurama-kun, won't you tell me what's up with them?" "I don't know, Kuwabara-kun. Maybe it's none of our business." Even as he said it, his mind was trying to piece together the puzzle. Hiei had called Kira a traitor, but he leapt to her defense against Akei. Kira said that Hiei was an old partner, but she also mentioned him trying to tame her. Akei said something about Kira having sent assassins after Hiei, and also that Kira's ki-threads were fake. She didn't have enough spirit-energy to account for her abilities. Hiei had accused Akei of trying to destroy Kira's soul. Now, combined with Kuwabara's observation that she was somehow broken . . . No matter how he turned it in his mind, Kurama couldn't find the truth beneath these facts.  
The fox-demon mixed another bitter medicinal tea to reduce Yusuke's fever again. He slept little, waking up every few hours to check on the spirit detective. It wasn't until dawn that Urameshi's fever finally broke, and Kurama was certain that he would be fine. He fell asleep leaning against the foot of Yusuke's bed. 


End file.
